The Christian life involves hard work. Anyone that thought living the Christian life was easy and smooth sailing was wrong. Christians face hardships and discouraging times, but how do we run the race patiently and fight against sin with the power of the Holy Spirit? How do we live effectively? We must keep our focus on Jesus. Our eyes should be on Him. If we keep ourselves distracted from Jesus and start to stare at ourselves or at the circumstances surrounding us, we will stumble. In Hebrews 12:1-4, God tells us the following:

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. 4 In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.

It is easy to lose sight of the big picture when we are facing hardships and discouragement, but you and I are not alone; there is help. There are Christians that have endured far more difficult circumstances than we have experienced. Is suffering the training ground for Christian maturity? Yes! Suffering helps us develop patience and makes our finale victory sweet. Remember that we are not running for ourselves, but for Jesus and we must always keep our focus and our eyes on Him not matter what hardships and discouragement we may face through our Christian  journey in life.